How to Wrap Text in Word? 6 Wrap Text Options Explained
(Note: This guide on how to wrap text in Word is suitable for all MS Word versions including Office 365)
When working on documents in Word, the usage of pictures in between texts helps in a better portrayal of the context and better understanding. Images can be used for a wide variety of documents ranging from how-to guides, tutorials, explanations, and documentation. Images have become an indispensable part of making documents that are easy to understand.
When you add an image in Word, it appears at the center of the screen. Though it serves the purpose sometimes, it doesn’t provide an aesthetic look in terms of text alignment.
In this article, I will show you how to wrap a text in Word so that it improves the overall texture and readability of the document.
You’ll Learn:
- What Is Wrapping a Text and Where Do We Use Them?
- How to Insert an Image in Word?
- How to Wrap a Text in Word?
- Other Options to Wrap a Text in Word
- More Layout Options
Watch this video to learn more on How to Wrap Text in Word
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What Is Wrapping a Text and Where Do We Use Them?
Before we learn how to wrap a text in Word, let us see what wrapping is and where we use them.
You might have seen newspapers and articles having images in different orientations on them. Some images might be on the left with the text on the right or vice versa. Others might have text over the image and some pages might have the image in the center and text all around them.
Wrapping text in Word improves the overall look of the document and helps in a better flow of content around the image.
How to Insert an Image in Word?
Before we learn how to wrap text in Word, let us learn how to add an image to the Word document. To insert an image, place the cursor where you want to insert the image. Navigate to Insert, and click on the dropdown from Pictures. You can either select This Device, download the images from stock images, or import them online. In this case, we’ll use the images from the local drive.
This opens up a dialog box. Navigate to the folder and select the image you want to add. Click Open.
This adds the image to the place where you have placed the cursor. The image automatically populates the page based on the resolution and dimensions of the image.
You will then need to change the alignment and wrap the text to suit the document overall.
How to Wrap a Text in Word?
Move the Image Around the Text
We know that by clicking and dragging we cannot move the image freely as we do in PowerPoint. To move an image and wrap the text along with it, click on the image and navigate to Picture Format and click on the dropdown from Position. Click on the place where you want to add the image. In this case, let us choose to add the image to the top center of the page. This moves the image to the top center and wraps the text around it.
Now, you can click on the image and use the anchor points to resize the image and even rotate the image. You can freely move the image using the border lines. When you move the image, the text automatically wraps around it.
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Other Options to Wrap a Text in Word
There are a few options you can use to move the image and wrap text around it.
To wrap a text, click on the image. You can click on the Layout Options shortcut button.
Or, you can navigate to Picture Format and click on the dropdown from Wrap Text for more choices to wrap the text.
You can see a variety of ways to align the image and wrap the text around it. Let us see different ways you can wrap text in Word in detail.
Inline with Text
When the image is wrapped around the text with this option, Word treats the image as a text. All other options to customize and edit them will be disabled. However, you can move, resize, and rotate them and they will align themselves next to the text.
In this option, you cannot move the image freely and the text won’t wrap around the image. Instead, the text occupies the space before and after the image, making it look odd.
Square
In this option, the space around the image takes the shape of a square and the text wraps around the image. This case is mostly used when you have to place the image in the center of the page.
Select the wrap option by navigating to Picture Format. From the Wrap Text dropdown, select Square.
Though selecting this option might not immediately move the image to the center, it gives you the flexibility to change the alignment and move the image as the text wraps around it.
Add Image to the Center of the Page
To place the image in the center of the page, navigate to Picture Format. Under Position, click on More Layout Options.
In the Layout dialog box, under Position, click on the Alignment option and select Centered in both horizontal and vertical headers.
This aligns the image to the center of the page and wraps the text around it.
You can also click on the image and drag it till you reach the center of the page. There is a crosshair line that serves as your guide to the middle of the page.
Tight
Wrapping text in Word using the Tight option is also similar to the Square option. While using the Tight option, the image becomes a square and the text is wrapped evenly around it. If you use the Tight option, the text around the image is tightly packed and unevenly wrapped around the image.
Adjust the Flow of Text Around the Image
This wrap text option is more suitable when you want to adjust the flow of text around the image. First, move the image where you want. Let us move the image to the center so that the text will flow around it evenly.
Now, select the wrap text option Tight from the Wrap Text dropdown. However, you can see the text unevenly wrapped around the image.
If you want, you can even remove the background of any image to adjust the flow of text perfectly around it. Use the Background Remover option under Picture Format to help you remove any background both automatically and manually.
Now, you can fine-tune the wrapped text around the image if you feel like there is any extra spacing around the image. To fine-tune the text around the image, you can use the Edit Wrap Points under the Wrap Text dropdown to help you alter the wrapping of the text.
Note: Use the wrap points to adjust the wrapping of the text. Double-click on the line to add extra wrap points.
Through
This option allows the text to appear as if it passes around, but the text does not literally pass through the image. Using this option, you can easily move, resize, and rotate the text freely.
Up and Down
This method of wrapping text in Word has the text up and down the image, leaving the sides empty. The image populates in the middle of the page, and the text to the left and right of the image moves to the top and bottom.
Behind Text and Infront of Text
This is also a common way of wrapping the text. After deciding the position where you want to move the text to, you can either move the image to the background where the text overlaps the image, or you can move the image to the foreground where the image overlaps the text.
Navigate to Picture Format. Under the dropdown from Wrap Text, click on the Behind Text option to add an image behind the text. If you want it in front of the text, click on the In Front of Text option to add an image before the text.
These options are mostly used when adding a vector or background or watermark to the document.
More Layout Options
If you are still not happy with the way the images and the text look even after placing the image in position, you can always use the More Layout Options to customize the existing layouts.
Navigate to Picture Format. Click on the dropdown from Wrap Text or Position and select More Layout Options. This opens up a Layout dialog box.
This layout offers in-depth customization to the existing layouts. You can change the alignment and positions of the image either horizontally, vertically, or both using the Positions tab.
From the Text Wrapping tab, you can change the layout, wrap the texts, and alter the distance of the image from the text. From the Size tab, you can change the size of the image to specific dimensions and change the aspect ratio of the image.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I wrap text in Word?
Wrapping text in Word is so simple. Select the image, go to Picture Format, and select an option from the Wrap Text dropdown according to your preference.
Can we wrap text around a table?
Yes, you can wrap text around a table. To wrap a table, select the table, right-click, and select Properties. Choose the way you want to wrap the text from the Properties dialog box.
Why is the Wrap Text option grayed out?
When the wrap text option is grayed out, it means that the text is already wrapped. In other cases, if additional wrapping options are disabled, the wrap mode might be set to Inline with Text.
Closing Thoughts
Microsoft Word offers a variety of options and customizations to wrap a text. This helps in making your document aesthetically pleasing and helps portray the importance of both the image and the text.
In this article, we saw how to wrap text in Word using different wrapping options. Choose the option that portrays your thoughts and suits your purpose best.
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Simon Calder
Chris “Simon” Calder was working as a Project Manager in IT for one of Los Angeles’ most prestigious cultural institutions, LACMA. He taught himself to use Microsoft Project from a giant textbook and hated every moment of it. Online learning was in its infancy then, but he spotted an opportunity and made an online MS Project course - the rest, as they say, is history!